video review: 'shake the spirit' by elle king

So yeah, this was a letdown... eh, it happens?

Next up, well, let's continue burning through my backlog here, so stay tuned!

album review: 'shake the spirit' by elle king

So I'm going to say something a little strange here: I'm not sure Elle King was done any favours by 'Ex's And Oh's' becoming a hit.

Now on the surface this might sound crazy - most acts in rock, especially those who can can straddle the scuzzy lane between blues, alternative country and the indie scene, would kill for any crossover success, especially when it cracks the top 10. But that's part of my point: for a moment in 2015, Elle King seized the popular attention with a blend of retro sounds that almost screamed novelty while simultaneously plainly showing her influences, which many critics described as squatting firmly between Amy Winehouse and any slew of modern blues rockers with a fuzzy pickup and a fat groove, especially The Black Keys. But while I might be mostly fond of that blend of sound, it wasn't all that unique in the indie scene - especially if you looked towards country - and going back to her debut Love Stuff, I just wasn't as wowed as I wanted to be. Yeah, there were a few great songs - 'America's Sweetheart' was a pretty great barn-burner with its banjo - and I liked Elle King's vocal texture, but as a whole the album felt too polished and direct and the blown-out groove sections could get tiresome, and could have likely done well on the radio... in an era where there was a space on the airwaves for more than just one song from her, or indeed anything in these genres.

And given that we hadn't heard from Elle King since, I'll admit I was surprised when Patrons threw a ton of support behind her sophomore follow-up Shake The Spirit, which reportedly was trying a broader selection of sounds... which to me smacked of trying to maintain her identity while trying to recapture that retro magic again, which could be risky for maintaining cohesion. But hey, I wouldn't say no to another 'America's Sweetheart' and hopefully one of those styles managed helped her strike gold, so what did we get from Shake The Spirit?

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - june 18, 2016 (VIDEO)

So I'm going to be experimenting a little with colour correction in my videos, add some richer hues, see if it looks any better. Thus far, turned out pretty sweet, I'm definitely pleased.

Next up, Maren Morris, then Dan + Shay and we'll see if the country streak will continue - stay tuned!

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - june 18, 2016

So you know how this week I'm aiming to focus more than normal on country music, given that by far it'll have the most new records dropping? Well, it turns out that the Billboard Hot 100 decided to follow suit, because especially when you take a look at our new arrivals, the big story is country music gearing up for the summer, and I can expect if songs from all those albums impact the charts, we might be seeing a fair bit more of it and I'm not really complaining.

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - july 25, 2015 (VIDEO)

Man, this one actually turned out pretty well - with the exception of whatever the hell is up with my hair. God, that swoop on the right looks terrible...

Anyway, Years & Years, Jason Isbell, and Ghostface Killah coming up, so stay tuned!

billboard BREAKDOWN - hot 100 - july 25, 2015

Yes, I'm going up a Tuesday - no, not like that. What sort of rampant insanity is this?